Postman Pat: The Movie star Stephen Mangan has revealed he's delighted to have made a film his kids can watch.

The Episodes actor - who is dad to sons Harry, six, and three-year-old Frank - voices the much-loved postie in the big screen adaptation of the popular TV show, which also features the voices of Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint and David Tennant.

"It's nice, because most of the stuff I've done is unwatchable by anyone under the age of 18," said Stephen. "I've watched a lot of Postman Pat with my children."

Stephen admitted making the animated film - which sees the affable postie seduced by the glamour of showbiz after entering a talent show - was a solitary process and "unlike every other job you do".

"Usually you meet the other actors and together you build something, whereas here, I went into a basement in Soho, recorded my half of all the conversations on my own and then two years later, there's a film," he said. "I met the woman, who plays my wife in the film, and Rupert Grint for the first time at the premiere."

The 41-year-old also opened up about choosing a career in showbiz, revealing he knew it was what he was destined for when he decided to become an altar boy as a child .

"I thought, if you're going to be made to go to church, then you may as well be on the stage - that was literally my thinking," he laughed.

He added: "It became the thing I did and loved and was known for. I didn't think I could do it for a living. We didn't know any actors growing up. It was totally alien. And when I got to 22, I thought, 'Why not? Let's give it a go'."

:: Postman Pat: The Movie is in cinemas now. Episodes continues on BBC Two on Wednesday nights.